Sports Illustrated Seth Davis spoke anonymously with a number of head and assistant coaches in the power conferences and relayed their impressions of each league’s likely NCAA Tournament teams in this piece.

It gets harsh, especially in the Big Ten. The assessment of the Hoosiers is fairly brutal, but it’s nothing compared to the treatment Wisconsin gets.

It should be noted that these aren’t Davis’s personal assessments. This is what actual coaches think of each other’s teams and players. Not a lot gets held back.

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81 comments

Seemed like a pretty good assesment. Wisc was spot on. I have always thought that, and it was very evident in our game with them. I think the comment about Hulls being the worst D1 defender was ridiculous, and our depth is hard to match, but not our size.

Anyway to highlight “This is what actual coaches think…” and have it blink? Seth Davis may need a new address and a bullet proof vest. I wouldn’t wait until Xmas for the vest. The Hulls comment alone already has one comment, apparently Big 10 coaches are wrong.

1. Hull’s is not the best defender by any stretch, but to sensationalize it like that is a bit over the top. If I am Tom Crean, I staple this piece in Hull’s locker for the rest of this year and probably his career. Any motivation he might need has just been given to him. He should take it out on every team he plays for the rest of the season by dropping 15+ every game and guards the hell out of his man.

2. Part on Watford was mostly accurate. His confidence has been lacking the last few games, but he can certainly make up for it with his defense and rebounding as evident from the last two games. Would certainly be good to seem him gain his offensive confidence going into the NCAA tournament.

3. I don’t disagree with what was said about Wisconsin in the least. However, that paragraph can be translated to the following: What team would you least like to play night in or night out? Wisconsin. They simply play their style of basketball by slowing down the pace and controlling the number of possessions in the game. It makes for a miserable game to play because they nearly always have a chance to win at the end of games. Their style of defense is a complete eyesore with the grabbing, holding, flops, and pushing in the back for rebounds. They are who we thought they were, and it is simply Wisconsin style basketball. Like it or hate it, that is what they do, and it gives them the best chance of winning basketball games.

The comment about Hulls is a bit over the top, but it is also basically accurate. Other B1G coaches have already commented that IU tries to hide him on defense so this opinion isn’t anything new. Hulls’ lack of defense isn’t from lack of bb IQ or effort, though. He’s doing the best with what he’s got. Agree with John H that coach should staple that paragraph to Hulls’ locker because it will result in motivating him to do more. Bet these comments were gathered a couple weeks ago because IU is playing better than those comments reflect in the last couple games. Don’t play defense – we held the last three teams to under 60 points. Ask MSU if we play defense. Nice to see that Seth Davis included IU on one of his lists since he doesn’t rate us in the top 25.

Although the commments are not diplomatic, I actually don’t find them all that controversial. Regarding Indiana, the criticisms are basically:

1. We tend to rise and fall with Christian Watford
2. We are not great defensively
3. We make too many mistakes

Isn’t that what everyone, including our own coach, says?

The more interesting thing to me is how often individual players, or even whole teams, are described in this article as “not tough”. It seems that everyone from fans to coaches is determined to see the normal ups and downs of all players as the result of character defects. It has become the go-to move to question players “heart”, or “desire”, or “mental toughness” if they don’t win every time out, whether on fan boards or in anonymous interviews.

Surely sometimes games are just lost because the competition is good and its hard to be at peak performance every time out…

I don’t really see that we rise and fall with CWat. Or, if it is true, than he hasn’t been down much because we sure are winning a lot. To the ‘Jordy thing’ I give a hearty ‘whatever’. The last few games he’s be filling up the passing lanes for steals and deflections at a pretty high rate, several times leading to fast break buckets. Just win, baby. I wasn’t watching when it happened but I believe last game (or the one before) the box score had him credited with a block. Could that be possible?

Jerry Tarkanian once famously said of Steve Alford, “He’s a lot quicker than he looks…but, then, white kids always are.”

I think the same could be said of Jordy.

I really don’t get the angst about him. He is so far to the positive on plus/minus it’s absurd. Some folks just live to whine while the rest of us enjoy the sunshine.

It is what it is.Hulls and Jones are not good defenders especially of quick guards, that’s why CTC gets paid so much-to adjust to minimize that weakness.

By the way, if the B1G is really the best conference in the country, how can its regular season champion not be a no.1 seed in the NCAA? That would be unjust to MSU(who has clinched the no. 1 seed in the B1G tourney). kansas plays noone except Missouri and only won due to the refs, UK plays absolutely noone but deserves a no.1 due to its record as does Syracuse, and both Duke and UNC are over-hyped.

Could not agree more on Wisconsin. The best thing the league could do with regards to men’s hoops is to put an end to the constant contact style of D that both Wisconsin and Purdue have gotten away with for years (and that other league teams have started to mimic in order match up). It’s not how basketball is meant to be played, it’s not allowed in other leagues and it really takes away from the sport by minimizing the influence of skill.

Give me a break. If anyone is naive enough to believe that this is ANYTHING but Seth “I don’t respect IU” Davis’ take on the BIG.He has been spewing this garbage all year, with IU receiving the worst of it.He’s very brave with his “anonymous” assessments. Please, if you had never seen a BIG game all year long your only impression or conclusion after reading this is that our conference is garbage.

Gotta agree with your puzzlement, real iu fan. By every metric, the B1G is the best conference from top to bottom this year. Stands to complete reason that the conference champ should be a no. 1 seed. Think also there should be some serious talk about Green being the national player of the year. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that he’ll be the B1G POY. Based on his skills, his stats and his importance to his team and his team is no. 1 in the no. 1 conference, why isn’t he the front-runner for national POY? Robinson is really good but is he really better than Green and has he done more for his team than Green, especially since Green plays in the toughest conference?

On a related note, Asheville, where I live, is a focal point in the basketball world this week as BOTH the Southern Conference AND the Big South Conference are having their tournaments in town this week. The SoCon was scheduled ahead of time and the Big South plays at the regular season champ’s (UNC-Asheville) home court. Coincidentally, UNCA is playing in a new arena this season. They hosted the Tar Heels to open the season.

Chet… I love Asheville. Wandered in there one day after riding the parkway, Stopped at a shopping center, in line at the coffee shop. Young woman walking behind me stopped and gave me a butt squeeze than kinda runs hand under and gives me a frontal sqeeze. Said it was good to see me and to call her. I was speechless. Sat down to drink my coffee and another woman walks up and asks me where “the hell have you been”? Spent a couple of yrs vacation at the Grove Inn. It still open?

Oh yeah, the Grove Park Inn is quite a destination. The President has stayed their a couple times, as have many other presidents. They have many pictures of guests but my favorite is Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Harry Firestone sitting around a fireplace. Can you imagine? It was the Aspen of it’s day.

We moved here from Colorado 28 years ago before it once again has became the ‘in’ place to live. Back then you couldn’t find an open restaurant after 8pm. Now it has every imaginable type of food, art galleries, more micro breweries per capita than any other US city.

In warm weather the streets are filled with musicians, magicians, jugglers, etc. It’s crazy. Festivals of some kind every weekend. The Shindig on the Green bluegrass mini festival has gone on every Friday for 40 years. Drum circle at Pritchard Park every Friday night with Rastafarians shouldering up next to brokers pounding on drums. It’s quite a place.

I’m riding the Parkway more days than not and, since we added a couple KLRs in the stable, exploring the Forest Service roads, as well.

It’s an amazing place to live. The women DO tend to fondle you a lot but you get used to it.

Chet, how have I not picked up that you live in Asheville yet?! My nephew lives there, and my brother will probably be moving there this summer. I’ll let you know when I’m in town so you can buy me a beer! 😉

Chet, I am really jealous. I’ve been researching great non-coastal places to live for a long while, and Asheville always comes up. I am picturing a bigger version of Bloomington, in the mountains, with no tornado threats. Have you been to Boone? Also piques my curiosity.

The mountains seem to break up weather systems (except snow). We rarely hear of a tornado and usually they just hit a small spot (they call them microbursts). It is like a college town with lots of diversity (and several colleges). While we obviously have plenty of religious conservatives, we also have witches and pagans an whatnot.

While I don’t go downtown a lot I always seem to tell myself I need to do it more. It’s very cool and very eclectic. I once walked past a juggler tossing swords and such in a strange outfit including high heels. There was a sign next to him explaining that he was performing one day and a woman said to him, “Let’s see you do that in heels.”

The ‘Occupy’ movement was/is treated pretty well. Our mayor is a young black woman with her masters degree in public administration. She’ll probably end up in Washington some day. Very smart.

Recently our Republican legislature gerrymandered our district in a way that snatched Asheville out of the center of the county and put its voters in a district with conservative (and larger) Gastonia, two hours east. We’re now stuck with some Nazi wacko for a representative. We haven’t had an election since then, so we’ll see how that goes. North Carolina is getting bluer and bluer.

BTW, the expression ‘a lot of bunk’ traces back to a congressman from here in Buncombe county who would drone on and on. Mindless twatter would be referred to as ‘a lot of Buncombe’.

One of the funniest things I’ve seen in my life was when Sarah Palin’s people set her up for a speech right in the path of Asheville’s annual Zombie Walk. It was mess yourself funny.

Boone is very much a college town (App State). It’s a couple hour from here. It doesn’t have as much to offer culturally. More chain restaurants and box stores. You’re also kinda stuck there when it snows as much of the highway is winding two lane.

The schools are actually quite good. My daughter got to perform in Carnegie Hall which lead to a trip to Beijeng the next year while in the high school chorale. All my kids got into great colleges. The surrounding counties not so much.

Everyone seems to own a dog and a mountain bike.

The only chance of me ever leaving is if I move to Belize (but I’d probably keep my cabin here).

I visited Asheville over Spring Break last year. Asked the lady at the visitors center what her favorite BBQ joint in town was. She directed us to 12 Bones and holy hell was it good. Spent the day after that perusing the art galleries and the downtown scene. Such a cool place. You’re a lucky person.

Chet- I have some very conservative family members (whom I love dearly), who love to complain about “overtaxed this,” “overtaxed that”; yet they ALL willingly choose to live in blue towns or cities, because the roads, transportation, infrastructure, restaurants and cultural life are vastly superior due to the effects of tax dollars. Funny how that works.

Hmm? An East Coast establishment Duke grad selects one monkey’s assistant in a barrel of 60+ coaches in the Big 10 to make a gutless disparaging remark about an Indiana kid that epitomizes unselfishness, relentless effort, sportsmanship, and leadership through example? What’s so shocking about baiting a jealous rival into making a classless comment when hidden behind a curtain of anonymity? Brutally honest? Brutally cowardice like much of the words spewed on any chat site where venom and hate lives behind masks.

The most gratifying result of such unprofessional sensationalism is the zero effect it will have on Jordan Hulls’ internal drive and winning character. He’s motivated by his own engine. He’ll continue to be his own worst critic. He’ll never take his foot off the gas. He’ll never stop do everything possible to improve his skill set and selflessly make those around him better. He’ll continue to seek and seize pressure moments the self-doubters shy, and when duty calls, nonchalantly rip the bottom of the nets in big games better than any Division 1 basketball player in the country.

Come tournament time, I’ll put my money is on the truth of a humble kid with ice in his every vein more than the sensationalism of charlatans the game with no comparable character enviously living in simple worlds of plastered words gloating and vain.

I have friends in your position that do the same thing – live on the outskirts of a blue area. They have nice country homes but then again they live in places like Salisbury. The local fauna there looks straight out of “Deliverance,” and meth and drunk drivers are everywhere. It takes a 15 minute drive in a gas guzzling pickup truck just to get to a decent grocery store; throw snow and ice into the mixture and the drive gets longer.

To me, it wouldn’t be worth the saved tax dollars to live out there, but if you are the “stock up on groceries/grown your own food” type, I could see the attraction of having lots of land and big old country home.

Here in Nevada, there’s no state income tax. And much/most of our taxes come from soaking the tourists. Yet, Righties STILL cry they are “taxed too much” while everything is falling apart.

Hell, they just opened a Performing Arts Center, that will be used by the rich, by a special tax on tourists that will never see the place.

God forbid they pay for it themselves….especially when they cry their eyes out about “moochers.”

Heck, billionaire Wynn even bribed the local politicians to give him a HUGE tax break for his art, basically forcing the “common folk” to help pay for it….yet WHINES that Obama is the “worst President ever” for “wanting hand-outs.”

Now you know I meant what you read, red. The whole county here is. Oh, your friends are not in bad position if they like it. But my saved tax $ do buy some of the fuel for our vehicles(yes my pickup too)for an 8 minute drive to a very sufficient grocery store. See we have everything available to us, as you in your desired spot, it is just I get it a little cheaper. Hey, gardening is entertaining, most satisfying and relaxing and with Spring near we’ll be starting some seeds soon. Give it some thought, sounds like your part way there with notions of land and that big old country home. Salisbury or New Salibury? POTFB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clarion- actually my wife and I are avid gardeners. However we have too much shade at home to grow an abundant vegetable crop, so we rent a plot at a local community garden. I am mildly jealous of people in your situation but at the end of the day I’m happy with what I’ve got, especially the car-free lifestyle.

@Tsao: that line was a crock of BS, if you meant it the way I think you did. No servicemen from Vegas? Have you forgot about the air force base?Reopened in 1949 as Las Vegas Air Force Base, it was renamed the next year in honor of Lieutenant William Harrell Nellis. Lt Nellis, a P-47 pilot from southern Nevada, was killed in action Dec. 27, 1944, while on his 70th combat mission over Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge in support of the besieged 101st Airborne Division.

Gardening and being outdoors is just plain smart. Having a home = happy. Our 1st home was a 4 year old mobile home and even for that year and a half we were happy. Interesting about the car-free, saves plenty of bucks. By the way we did not have this situation when we were youngsters like you and yours. Just made it 1 of the goals(or a spot on the bucket list). Howdy, Steve. Got 1 ego, I am sure with the addition of an alter the wife would additionally alter me. POTFB!

Let me add to your nice post. Gardening in spring is nice; I love the preparatory work and the lack of mosquitos. Watching the daffodils, bulbs, and asparagus come up is very nice, especially after a long winter.

However, there is something that I adore about being outside during those hot summer months when the hydrangeas are blooming and the tomatoes are ready to ripen. Contrary to the sentiments of some of my wussy west coast brethren, I love the humidity in this area of the country. There is never any doubt about what clothes you (won’t) need. Give me a pair of flip flops, shorts, a light t-shirt, and a shovel, and I’m a happy camper. Come 8PM, the barbecue and the cooler come out, along with the fireflies, and it is summer evening bliss.

I imagine that at that hour in your neighborhood, the final Heinekens are going down smoothly and a Mrs. Clarion cast iron skillet fruit pie awaits.

Gardens thrive in the thick humid air of Indiana summers. At dusk you’ll give final admire to the giant stalks and monstrous leaves a row of hearty zucchini plants, barely a few sprouting baby squash much bigger than the size of a swollen thumb, and by next mornin, Harvard’s wife is harvesting in preparation for a delicious homemade zucchini soup.

HT, You’ve hit on it perfectly. Reared here or not you you’re Hoosier. Have you tried raising the “sun sweet” yellow cherry/grape tomatoes yet? They taste heavenly if that is possible. Uninterested must be aligned with the flock of west coast brethren you mentioned. Will you attend the game today?

HC- You better believe I know about those tomatoes. Grew them 2 years ago for the first time. Pulled off baskets full of them every couple of days from June-September. Last year they weren’t as abundant for some reason, but the flavor was there. Truly spectacular.

Regarding the west coast, don’t get me wrong, it still has its enchantments of nature. Just overrated, that’s all.

Not going to the game today, but keeping an eye on it. I feel pretty relaxed about the outcome. Are you going?

Harvard- Haven’t done the zuchinis yet, but know what you mean. If you have a female harvester like that, all the better.

No, I won’t be there either. I am just a little to far away for a Sunday evening game to be nearly effortless. Also Mother-in-law is in town but I will be viewing from my favorite chair after shutting down the charcoal in the Weber.

Chet, I agree about that backcourt at Asheville. I believe they are Prim and Dickey, are quite a duo. I’ve watched them play several times throughout their careers and IIRC 2-3 times this year. I do not remember which one of the two it is but he is a tremendous ball hawk – steals.

My friend called again about his experience in Southern Indiana. He said I-65 South was like the Autobahn, he was doing 100 mph and cars were keeping up and one guy passed him. He high tailed it into Louisville.

Speaking of Hoosiers in far off places, I once read that the Hoosier Alumni association is one of the largest and farthest-extending in the world. I know there is a club in Seattle, but places like London, Paris, and Tokyo have them too, if I’m not mistaken.

I need to get back to gardening. I have a ton of great gardening experiences from younger days. Grew up in the country. My parents had 20 acres of beautiful land that included a back 10 acres that provided spring-fed waters. My mom would grow the most spectacular gladiolus flowers and she would always have a vase stuffed with fresh cut bouquets her favorite colors to decorate the summer dinner table. Green beans, zucchini, all varieties of tomatoes, cantaloupe, and peppers were the main crops our family garden. Nothing can compare to the taste and sweetness that infuses garden-grown vegetables carefully nurtured and brought to plate within hours of picking; all so far superior to anything found in a grocer. My dad also planted a peach tree next to the garden.

I’m 47 and lived in 9 states in an 12 year span, but I’ve been in Vegas for 17 years.

Most of that moving around was because of Kinko’s as I worked in 6 different stores, managing 4 of them.

Last one was in Boulder where I was making $100,000 a year (almost 20 years ago). I had thought about quitting for awhile and I was in Louisville visiting a friend from IU who was also a manager for them. A mutual friend died of cancer while I was on my trip.

My buddy quit Kinko’s to start his own business so I quit too. I knew a friend in Vegas and she said I should move here. So, I threw everything in my car and drove here. Had never been here before.

I have a circulation problem and my doctor always said to move where it’s warm. First time I ever lived in a warm place was Vegas. I’d move back to Bloomington tomorrow if it weren’t for the cold.

The summers are brutal here, but if I never have to be in the cold again, it’s worth it.

I hear ya Laffy. I like warm, and if its good for your health, more power to ya.

At the same time, I find that having warm weather all the time is like drinking beer or eating pizza every day. Meaning in life comes through contrasts (kind of explains why this Hoosier season is so special even with ‘bad’ losses to Nebraska).

Nowadays, I need to earn the warm weather by sticking it out through a cold winter complete with snow and ice. Our current mild winter, in fact, has been a major disappointment; there has really been no build-up to spring.

Laffy, one of the places I lived in Colorado was Brighton. I lived on a farm and I was due east of Boulder Mountain. Great view of it. I lived on 168th Avenue, which I always found hilarious because I was 10 miles from the city. To be on a numbered ‘avenue’ in the middle of nowhere seemed weird.

Regarding alumni, I was strolling down an alleyway with little shops in Asheville one evening and stumbled upon and ‘IU bar’. Kinda shocked me here in ACC country. I don’t go to bars much (like never) but I don’t think it made the cut.